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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28715787">Separated we are stars. Together we are fire.</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/onedemoniclilly/pseuds/onedemoniclilly'>onedemoniclilly</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>TOMORROW X TOGETHER | TXT (Korea Band), 방탄소년단 | Bangtan Boys | BTS</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Equal screen time, Fluff and Angst, Found Family, Gen, It gets better I swear, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Secrets, Superpowers, The only relationship in this is SooBread and oh boy the drama, They're all the Main Character, Trauma, trauma™</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-01-12</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-05-02</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-13 10:36:07</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>8</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>16,099</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28715787</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/onedemoniclilly/pseuds/onedemoniclilly</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Recently escaped from the Compound: a place where atrocities are commonplace and teenagers roam with powers, TXT bet their lives on the thin line between success and certain death.</p><p>Having left the Compound a couple of years back, BTS try to live normal lives as best as they can.</p><p>When the two groups clash, the strong bonds of friendship are forged and brotherhood is shaped. But with the light, shadows are cast.</p><p>~*~<br/>A BTS TXT Crossover in a Superpower AU.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>69</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Taehyun</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><ul class="associations">


        <li>
            Inspired by

            <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/5556464">Don't Blink You'll Miss It (Lift Up Your Head)</a> by <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/umisabaku/pseuds/umisabaku">umisabaku</a>.
        </li>

    </ul><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>They appear in an alleyway and fall in an alleyway. We have five very confused doofuses and its serious. Buckle up, it's going to be good.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>[Warnings: Vomit] From the beginning of the chapter up to "Soobin, where are we?"</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Taehyun had absolutely no idea where he was but all he felt <strike> through the swirling lights, pounding headache and sudden biting cold </strike> was pure and utter exhilaration. Glee, joy, excitement and oh- Beomgyu just threw up.</p><p> </p><p>Taehyun looked down to the spreading puddle of vomit; thinning out, seeping into the crevices of the tarmac. Tarmac, a sight he had only seen on screen, as documentaries rambled on and on, stuffing knowledge into his head; his only connection to whatever was outside, whether it was all lies and spiel they fed to him or truth blended into stories and hard facts. Tarmac, a stark contrast to the painted walls and coloured tiles, the labelled doors and smooth, metallic surfaces of tables and chairs.</p><p> </p><p><em> ‘Forget about them,’ </em> his mind whispered, <em> ‘it’s different now. No monthly evaluations, no voices telling them what they can’t and can do, no watching others breakdown because their results weren’t up to standard, no more punishments, no more-’ </em></p><p> </p><p><em> ‘But if what that doesn't happen,’ </em> he thought back, <em> ‘what if we messed up and they find us, what if we-’ </em></p><p> </p><p>Soobin’s voice breaks through the turmoil of his own thoughts, a calm current dragging him from the riptide<strike> no more water, no more water, no more </strike></p><p>“Hey, you okay?” Taehyung looked up, he was pretty sure he’d stayed silent under the burden of his mind and Soobin couldn’t read minds<strike> liar, liar, liar </strike> - but no, Soobin was rubbing the back of Beomgyu. His pale face as concerned as his voice; giving away the same queasiness they all felt as he stumbled and leant slumped, <strike> tired tired tired </strike> against the wall next to Beomgyu.</p><p><em> ‘The jump probably hit him harder.’ </em> His mind supplied, Taehyun echoed this thought to the group; gaining a couple of noises of agreement in return.</p><p><em> ‘one, two, three, four, yes we’re all here’ </em> safe, safe, safe? He mentally counted, taking in the tired faces and haggard silhouettes.</p><p> </p><p>“I’m okay” Beomgyu straightened himself from the tired pile of bodies next to the wall, walking around the pool of vomit up next to Yeonjun, “the queasiness just hit me”</p><p> </p><p>“Soobin, where are we?” Taehyun brows furrowed, “I thought we’re meant to be near <em> them </em>.”</p><p>“We are, but I’m not entirely sure how near.”</p><p> </p><p>“Great. So we have absolutely no idea where we are, no food, and I don’t know about you guys, but I think I could sleep for a decade.” Yeonjun snapped as he ran a hand through his hair in annoyance, leaving small tufts poking up, before deflating slightly, his shoulders lowering with a small sigh. “I’m sorry, we’re all tired and I’m really hungry; you know how stressed I get when I’m hungry and I think we’re in the right timeline. I didn't mess up, what if I messed up and-</p><p> </p><p>“Oh,” Beomgyu looked up, his face contorted into a panic and realisation, “Oh no… Is...anyone missing any limbs?” His hands fluttered around as everyone erupted into a silent fumble as they each checked ears, noses and limbs; counting fingers and toes.</p><p>Beomgyu let out a sigh of relief as everyone nodded, happy that everyone was okay and nothing had fused together.</p><p> </p><p>“We’re still in Korea….I think” Huening Kai spoke up from the entrance of the alleyway, “the shops are all in Korean and I still understand what people are saying. The right time too, we’re not in 2027 anymore. 2018 if the movie poster is still relevant”</p><p> </p><p>Taehyun moved towards Huening Kai, glancing in the same direction.</p><p>“No, you’re right. It's unlikely that they would keep a movie advert on an electronic board if it was a different year since release.”</p><p> </p><p>Soobin huffed, stress running off his shoulders, “so it worked then.”</p><p>Beongyu’s head slumped back, “I thought it would feel different. More laughter and tears... Y’know, happiness. But I just really want to sleep…”</p><p>Yeonjun patted Beomgyu’s arm as he stood up, “We can sleep once we find <em> them </em>. They have to be nearby.”</p><p> </p><p>~*~</p><p> </p><p>The first thing they noticed was the lights. They flashed, were in so many different colours and were so, so bright. Way brighter than they could have imagined.</p><p>“This. This definitely was not on TV.”</p><p>“You said that right.”</p><p>Yeah. That pretty much summed up everything.</p><p> </p><p>The other thing was...everyone else was just so...short.</p><p>Taehyun and Beomgyu were slightly above average but Soobin, Yeonjun and Huening Kai were...attracting attention, to say the least. Don’t let them find me, never again, never again.</p><p>People stared as they walked by, heads turned and some started whispering. Kai ducked his head as a group of girls turned and giggled; his fingers fiddling with the hem of his shirt.</p><p> </p><p>“So...How are we going to find <em> them </em>?” Yeonjun asked</p><p>Soobin scratched his head, “I’m not sure, ask around?”</p><p>Beomgyu turned to say something but Taehyun had already wandered to a nearby food stall run by an old lady and a bored girl.</p><p> </p><p>“Uh, Auntie?” Taehyun asked</p><p>The old lady turned towards him and the girl glanced up from her phone, slight annoyance flickering across her face, “yes?”</p><p>“Have you seen a guy around here? His name is Jimin and… and he has a tattoo on his wrist?”</p><p>“Hm, Jimin you say? Byeol, doesn’t that sound like that guy from your High School? That guy with the dyed hair who’s gotten suspended recently?”</p><p>“Aish, grandma, what do you mean? Choon-Hee goes to High School, I’m already in college!”</p><p>The lady sighed, “I’m sorry, my memory isn’t that good these days.” She looked back in Taehyun’s direction, “Hey why don’t you try-”</p><p>But Taehyun had already gone.</p><p> </p><p>“What were you thinking?” Yeonjun dragged Taehyun back by his collar, “asking a random lady about <em> them </em> . What if she was working for” and with this his voice dropped to a whisper, <em> “the scientists.” </em></p><p> </p><p>Soobin smacked Yeonjun’s shoulder playfully, “You worry too much, they’re gone now and won’t come back till next year.”</p><p>“But what if they’re not gone and just staying low and didn’t become active till next year? She could be an agent looking out for more subjects or working for the counsels or-”</p><p>Beomgyu slung an arm around Yeonjun’s shoulder drawing him back into the present, “Or she could just be a sweet old lady running a stall with her grandchild”</p><p> </p><p>Huening Kai silently slid between the two, huddling in their body heat, “it’s cold hyung," he said in response to the question looks, "and I’m hungry. Can we get some food?”</p><p> </p><p>“We don’t have any money Kai,” Taehyun stated softly, “and we need to find a place to stay as well.”</p><p>“We didn’t really think this through did we?” Beomgyu said</p><p>Yeonjun slouched slightly, “it was more of a run and get out of there, you know we couldn’t stay in there anymore. Not when we were about to graduate and-”</p><p> </p><p>“Yeonjun.” Soobin slowed down his pace and glanced behind Huening Kai, “Don’t you think they seem to be following us?”</p><p>Taehyun turned around in the direction Soobin was looking at.</p><p>Yeonjun smacked the back of his head, “Ya! Don’t be so obvious, they’ll get suspicious.”</p><p>Kai perked up suddenly, breaking the tension that had settled over the group.</p><p>“Hey, look at that plushie, it’s. Gigantic.” Hyuka spun around, pointing at a shop window; the corners of his lips tugged up.</p><p>The group twisted around to see what the youngest was so excited about and spotted a giant bread plushie in a shop window.</p><p> </p><p>“Hyuka, yes it’s gigantic but we have more pressing issues to deal with.” Yeonjun nudged Kai’s shoulder.</p><p>“No you don’t understand hyung, It’s really big and I’ve always wanted to shop before, can we look in the windows? Can we?”</p><p>“Huening, I understand but-”</p><p>“We can see them in the reflection,” Beomgyu pointed out.</p><p> </p><p>Taehyun looked into the shop’s window, the reflection showing a group of three guys by a lamppost not so far from their quintet: one with blonde hair; another with brown hair and a white jacket; and the last guy carrying a shopping bag. They were whispering to each other and shot not-so-subtle glances towards the five at the window.</p><p> </p><p>‘<em>Oh no</em>’ Taehyun thought, his mind whirling in panic, ‘<em>they’ve found us and they’re going to take us back and it’s going to be worse cause we’ve escaped and no one can escape now and we’re going to be under constant surveillance and this has gone so wrong</em>’</p><p>Beomgyu touched Taehyun’s arm gently, “Hey, calm down. We’ll be fine. We can keep our distance and we’ll just do another jump once we’ve gained our energy back.”</p><p>Taehyun didn’t realise he was breathing so heavily and his heart rate was so fast.</p><p>He calmed himself down, “yeah, you’re right. We’ll be fine.”</p><p>
  <strike> What if we’re not, we have to go back, they’ll find us and it will hurt. </strike>
</p><p>Huening Kai tugged on Soobin’s shirt. “Hey, they’re getting closer”</p><p>Soobin pulled a grimace and walks off; the group following as he picks up his pace; swerving in between crowds of people and food stalls. They tried to stay as a group, the five giants keeping close as they navigated down the busy night market; shooting quick glances back as they hurried down the street.</p><p> </p><p>Yeonjun glanced back, “They’re definitely following us now. Turn down here,” he changed direction, aiming for an alleyway, “We can escape down there.”</p><p> </p><p>As they turn down the alleyway, lights dimming as they escape the main streets, Huening Kai tripped as his shirt snagged on something, prompting him into a fall.</p><p>He flailed slightly as he attempted to balance himself whilst trying to move forwards, a fresh wave of panic making its way onto his face.</p><p>Beomgyu backed up, “Hey, his top is trapped on something.” Taehyun joined them, eyes tracing Kai’s shirt, finding it hooked around a pipe and a bit of wire.</p><p>“Let me handle this,” he says, crouching down next to Huening Kai and Beomgyu as the older two hung back hovering over Hyuka, untangling the bundle of metal and cloth with deft fingers.</p><p> </p><p>Having eventually untangled Hyuka from the pipe and shoe stuck in between a drainage gate, Kai shook out his shirt as he stood back up.</p><p>They get ready to move down the alley, having caught their breath back when Yeonjun stills, “Great.”</p><p>Taehyun glanced towards Beomgyu and Huening Kai, asking them a silent question. Huening Kai shook his head subtly whilst Beomgyu kept still, his eyes focused on the figures in front of the quintet.</p><p> </p><p>Glancing out of the corner of his eye, Taehyun could see that Yeonjun had shifted, keeping his knees bent and his torso angled to the end of the alley.</p><p>Soobin, on the other hand, had fixed the trio with a heavy glare, body tensing for a fight.</p><p>Taehyun could see the mental calculations running through Soobin’s head. <strike> See? See? You lair, as if you could <em> see </em> them. Yeah right, hah. </strike></p><p> </p><p>The trio had caught up to them, they weren’t fast enough untangling Kai’s shirt. So in the light of the main street backlighting them; looking down on their small band of ragged misfits, their chasers look every bit heroic, no matter how ironic that seemed. </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Disclaimer:<br/>This is solely for entertainment purposes; I will try and stick to the basic facts of each member but I will have to assume and use creative license to make parts of the storyline fit. (I will try and point out what I have tweaked in the endnotes of each chapter).</p><p>Please remember that this is a work of fiction and the boys are their own people. I am basing this story only on what is shown to us. Do not drag this story and its contents past the boundaries of fanfiction, the reader and the author.</p><p>This is an Alternate Universe Crossover fic with TXT and BTS.</p><p>There is no romance in this story, mainly because I don't feel as comfortable writing it as reading it and also because I don't think it'll fit in realistically with the plot and written mental states of the characters in the story.</p><p>I avoid using Korean terms simply because I am not sure what is appropriate. However, I have decided to use the term “hyung” in my work mainly because to me it feels right. I will try not to use it too often. If I do use a term incorrectly, please correct me.</p><p>This fic is inspired by Don't Blink You'll Miss It (Lift Up Your Head) by umisabaku</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Namjoon</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Namjoon thought that this would be a normal trip to the supermarket. After all, they only needed soy sauce and squid this time round.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It was colder inside the shop than outside, courtesy of the AC units blasting above the door and fridges lined with vegetable and canned drinks. Namjoon stood in front of the freezer section, the glass door separating the rows of ice cream and frozen fish reflecting the squabbling duo behind him.</p><p> </p><p>“Hey didn’t you want these?” Hoseok held up a pack of sweets: the ones which came in a plastic dispenser shaped like a cartoon character meant for small children; his other hand carrying a small tin of formula milk for babies.</p><p>“Yah, hyung!” Jungkook attempted to snatch it back; Hoseok waving it outside of his reach.</p><p>“Really?” Namjoon turned around exasperated, the duo freezing in place; dangerously close to a shelf stacked with tubes of crisps and other snacks, “We just need soy sauce and some dried squid, and our budget is already pretty low this week. Jin’s going to murder us slowly if we go over.”</p><p>“He wouldn’t do that, he’s way too careful with his abilities” Jungkook shrugged the threat off.</p><p>“It’s just an expression, jeez, you’d think you would know after three years” Hoseok placed the sweets and tin back onto a nearby shelf and stalked back towards Namjoon.</p><p>“The squid is here,” he said, plucking off a shelf and walking towards the cashier.</p><p>“Jungkook, you still have the soy sauce?” Jungkook held up the bottle in response; Namjoon followed as he readied his wallet.</p><p>~*~</p><p> </p><p>The trio walked out of the small supermarket and into the bustling crowds of the night market: the streets lit with billboards and street lamps; smells of hotteok, tteokbokki and spicy broths floating downwind; and the atmosphere lighting up even the most lonely of creatures- for stray dogs and cats padded around, receiving many scraps of food dropped or given.</p><p> </p><p>Namjoon hefted the bag up, the large bottle of soy sauce weighing his arm down as he followed Hoseok and Jungkook down the street and back to the apartment. The smell of the street stalls was very tempting but the threat of Jin's budgeting squashed the rising thoughts.</p><p> </p><p>His pace slowed as he walked among the crowds, brain hyper-aware of something but not entirely sure what of. <em> 'Something, something's here. And it's important but I don't know what. What could it be?' </em>Deciding to pick up the pace again, he banished the feeling, despite it persistently lingering at the back of his mind; causing his shoulders to tense.</p><p> </p><p>Jungkook, noticing his slowing steps walked back towards him.</p><p>"Hyung, is something wrong?"</p><p>"Nothing, it's probably just my subconscious fearing what the rest are going to do if we don't hurry. They're all hungry and it's late" he tried to joke, to ease the tension, but something in his voice must have betrayed him as Jungkook brows furrowed.</p><p>"Is it a gut feeling? You know to always trust them, plus something seems to be bothering Hobi hyung as well."</p><p> </p><p>That was a flag for Namjoon. He lightly jogged to Hoseok, who had nearly reached the end of the market a few meters down.</p><p>"You also feeling….something?" He asked, glancing back as Jungkook caught up with them.</p><p>"Kinda, I didn't think much of it. But if you're also…" he trailed off, leaving Namjoon to fill in the blanks.</p><p>"I'll call the rest, just alert them that we're going to be slightly late," Namjoon said after a moment of filled silence.</p><p>"We're not going to…?" Hoseok glanced around.</p><p>"No, we're just going to follow our instincts around. Just to check it out, no action" he quickly added on, as Jungkook started to protest, "plus we have shopping to deliver back to the house."</p><p> </p><p>The trio walked at a much slower pace down the night market, cautiously keeping an eye out whilst making an effort to hold a conversation.</p><p> </p><p>"So, you know what Jin hyung is making tonight?"</p><p>"We're having beef ribs, rice and side dishes tonight."</p><p>"Ah... "</p><p> </p><p>"So what are you doing in school now?"</p><p>"Uh, this and that…"</p><p>"..."</p><p>"..."</p><p> </p><p>"Do you think we have-"</p><p>"..."</p><p>"Ok then"</p><p> </p><p>As they passed the end of the bustling crowd, and into the main commercial sector, Namjoon's senses suddenly spiked.</p><p>"You felt that too?" Jungkook asked, brows furrowed as he tried to gauge a sense as to where his instincts were pointing to.</p><p>"If all of us are feeling it then…" Namjoon started and he also started to concentrate on his senses.</p><p> </p><p>Bookshop, small dog, drunk group, clothes shop, really tall guys-<em> wait, is that… </em></p><p>"Is that… a uniform?" He asked, pointing at the group of tall teenagers, "with really suspicious matching bracelets and emblems that look too familiar"</p><p> </p><p>"Ah…you might be right there. That's the higher ranking uniforms although a bit different. But still, definitely not good." Hoseok picked up the pace slightly, leading the group down the street towards the quintuple. Stopping by a lamppost, they watched as the group paused in front of a storefront, discussing and looking around.</p><p> </p><p>"Do you think they've noticed us?"</p><p>"Definitely. They've picked up their pace, we're going after them."</p><p> </p><p><em> ‘The group was fast,’ </em> Namjoon noted, very fast for someone trying to avoid attention; <em> ‘and pulling it off successfully.’ </em></p><p>“They’re turning down that alleyway,” he said as they passed small groups of people, trainers hitting the pavement and dodging lamposts.</p><p>“They’re very good; their diversion tactics are seamless, almost fooled me there” Jungkook commented as he tracked them veering ever so slightly to the alleyway opening.</p><p> </p><p>The trio ran down the highstreet slope, feet landing heavily against the pull of gravity. The plastic bag knotted in Namjoon’s hand as he kept it from knocking into his leg as he ran.</p><p> </p><p>~*~</p><p> </p><p>They found them. Two huddled around one on the floor and another two standing: one ready to bolt at a moments notice, the other prepared to fight. They looked tired, faces young and exhausted with lean muscles and ashen faces. But all five of them were wearing the same thing, a black uniform with silver trimmings and an emblem with a blooming magnolia in a light blue. On their wrists were what could be taken as friendship bracelets, expensive ones with its sleek metal and coloured striped but Namjoon knew better. He could feel the glare of the streetlights on his back as he stared down on the group in front of him.</p><p> </p><p>Hoseok moved from Namjoon’s left side, giving a smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes.</p><p>“It’s rather suspicious running from us, you haven’t done something have you?” he asked.</p><p><em> ‘Ah, the peaceful approach,’ </em> Namjoon thought under a calculating expression, <em> ‘find out their initiatives first and then take action.’ </em></p><p>“You started chasing us first!” One of the boys crouching shifted his weight onto the balls of his feet. <em> ‘Scared’ </em> Najoon’s mind supplied.</p><p>“Who wouldn’t run from three suspicious people stalking them”</p><p>“And what normal people would use such effective diversion tactics?” Hoseok shot back</p><p>“Oh I don’t know, maybe people running from shady guys using such efficient tracking methods.” the boy snarked back.</p><p> </p><p>Jungkook stepped forwards, the two at the back mirrored his movements: one shifting ready to spring and the other into a more neutral position.</p><p>Their youngest spoke up, “where are you from?” They all gave confused looks, Jungkook continued, “I mean, I don’t recognise that uniform and I’ve been living here for a while.”</p><p>“That’s a lie.” Another one spoke up, a challenge burning in his eyes.</p><p>“Ah? I tried at least… So then, what do you want.” Jungkook’s eyes took a slight glow, even more visible with the busy streets behind him.</p><p> </p><p>Namjoon decided to end the back and forth taunting and take matters into his own hands.</p><p>“Are you here to take us back? Because if you are, you’re not.”</p><p> </p><p>“What, no, are you going to take us back?” The same boy who first spoke up slowly stood up, “wait are you…”</p><p> </p><p>The one with his shirt ripped at the hem formed a gun with his fingers. Namjoon felt Jungkook tense up next to him before the boy mouthed to himself <em> Bang. Tan. Hello- </em></p><p>“We are BTS” Namjoon found himself finishing off the phrase out loud causing five heads to look at him. Ripped-shirt slowly stood up, looking expressionless at the other boys,</p><p>“One dream, hello we are…” he started, voice trailing off</p><p>“Tomorrow by Together. It’s nice to meet you.” Another finished, looking awed at the trio in front of them.</p><p> </p><p>Namjoon’s mind was a whirlwind now, letting his thoughts fly loose; bouncing back and forth in a dance of chaos.</p><p>
  <em> ‘Are they survivors, but I couldn’t sense anyone, there were only 15 other groups and I don’t recognise them. Were they from another branch or a country? Are they a threat? Where have they come from, how do they- why do they have a greeting? Did we fail, or did we not do enough? Why are they here?’ </em>
</p><p> </p><p>“We’re from the future.” One of them stepped forwards, his height equalling that of Namjoon’s, “And it’s a long story.”</p><p>“Hyung! You can’t just say that.” he turned around to look at Namjoon. “Beomgyu, compound escapee. And yes we’re from the future.”</p><p>“That wasn’t much more than what Yeonjun said,” another muttered before lifting himself off the ground and helping ripped-shirt up, “but it is a long story. We’re after you though..technically…” he quickly back up realising the double meaning of his words, “we’re not here to take you back, but, uh, wanted to find you. You know, cause of the escapee thing…” he trailed off.</p><p> </p><p>“We need Jin here,” Hoseok spoke up, “and I think we all need to eat.”</p><p> </p><p>“I’ll call him.” Namjoon replied, “keep an eye on them.” he looked back at the quintet all now standing non-offensively, calmer and less panicked.</p><p> </p><p>~*~</p><p> </p><p>Namjoon walked a couple paces back towards the main street. Not enough to let them listen in but enough to keep them in his sights. He unlocks his phone and dials a number, Jin picks up.</p><p>“Yes?”</p><p>“There has been...an interesting issue.”</p><p>“More interesting than buying soy sauce I hope? Yoongi brought takeout back, so we have enough food for tomorrow as well.” Jin’s voice filtered through the phone speakers, “but I do still need that soy sauce if you <em> already haven’t brought it </em>”</p><p>“It is more interesting than that.” Namjoon’s tone was more serious than Jin’s joking one, “We’ve bumped into some runaways and they have a story to tell.”</p><p>A sharp intake of breath. “Runaways? Get them back here. We’re moving soon anyway. How many?”</p><p>“Five of them, new to the streets. Young as well, still in uniform.”</p><p>“I guess we’ll get something different for tomorrow’s meals then. I’ll inform the others.”</p><p> </p><p>Namjoon hung up and strode back to the group. He gave a subtle nod to Jungkook and Hobi, as they circled the five boys, “we’re taking you to get some food. Follow me.”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Soobin</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Soobin has no street sense, they meet the rest and eat dinner. The soy sauce has achieved its purpose.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Warnings: briefly mentioned abusive behaviour in Soobin’s past, all in the struck text</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Today was crazy, Soobin decided. Absolutely crazy. First, they time travelled <em> 'first time over six months as a group, a necessary risk'</em>, then they got stalked and nearly caught. <em> Then </em>it turns out their stalkers were BTS - the legends - themselves. Who would have thought this day would go like this? Definitely not Soobin.</p><p>
  <em> 'Honestly, it was going to be much simpler than this: jump, find a place to stay, search and have a nice calm confrontation about everything.'  </em>
</p><p>He hoped he at least got the last thing on his list. </p><p>Their group of eight made their way towards the more residential area of the town (<em> 'city?' </em>) as Namjoon led them to, presumably, the rest of the infamous seven - hopefully for dinner. </p><p> </p><p>Soobin expected to be overwhelmed by all of the people in different outfits and noise and different coloured lights, smells, feelings. But he felt oddly okay. He chalked it up to the mixture of adrenaline, nervousness and excitement that was swirling under the hunger and fatigue. Speaking of hunger, the smells coming from the streets markets they arrived in were heavenly - so much better than whatever they ate back in the cafeteria. Soobin couldn't quite place the difference but it was like the difference between two water and bottled water. It was just… different. But he firmly decided to concentrate on his surroundings and simply let the thought go.</p><p> </p><p>Nothing on TV and all of the documentaries they watched was like this. They couldn't reciprocate the humidity and heaviness of the air or the fumes of traffic clogging up the main roads. Soobin could recite every little bit of trivia he knew about certain car models, or the bumps on the road (tactile paving) that lead up to and stopped at crossings. But some things made no sense whatsoever, like the bright signs saying 1+1 or why people avoided others dressed in hoodies and heavily tattooed. Those didn’t make any sense to Soobin, there were plenty of times they had to wear hoodies and dark clothing, and there were also quite a few kids with tattoos back there.</p><p> </p><p>In the peripheral of his vision, Soobin saw one of the three leading them to approach Taehyun and started conversing. Well, it was more one-sided, Taehyun didn’t really chip in much: humming and nodding in response to whatever the elder was saying. Beomgyu and Huening Kai seemed to be okay too; Kai was fiddling with his ripped shirt hem and Beomgyu looked slightly dazed and tired with today’s events, but they both had a bit of colour in their cheeks. </p><p><em> ‘Much healthier from their pale appearance back in the alleyways’ </em> his mind commented.</p><p> </p><p>The one who made a phone call approached Soobin and Yeonjun, who was walking next to him in silence.</p><p>“I never really got your names, it was a bit of a hurry. I’m Namjoon,” the newly dubbed Namjoon spoke, “if you managed to access our files then I’m RM.” </p><p>Yeonjun’s eyes lit up at this and Soobin perked up, “so you’re the one who leads the group.”</p><p>“Yeah, I’ve got leader duties. And even if they don’t apply here, <em> Once a Leader, Always a Leader </em> I guess. Deciding what to order for dinner or sorting out all of the last-minute plans.” RM replied.</p><p> </p><p>There were so many questions Soobin wanted to ask <strike>how hard was it, did you take on the punishments, how much did you <em>sacrifice</em> </strike>but he settled with a simpler question,</p><p>“Do I call you RM or Namjoon?”</p><p>“Hmm, I don’t really mind, Namjoon is better in public though. I think the rest of the group prefer their real names although some don’t mind either. Wait, I never introduced them to you. That’s Jungkook and that’s Hoseok - he went by J-Hope.” He said, pointing at the respective people.</p><p> </p><p>Soobin matched their names and faces with what they knew. It was disorientating, knowing their blood types and their early years in the facility before even putting faces and names together. They could only quickly skim through the stolen files before they had to destroy them days before their escape - only knowing rumours and stories of an escaped group. J-Hope (‘<em> Hoseok’ </em>) was the one talking to Taehyun, the shorter boy not dwarfed, for once, next to the elder.</p><p> </p><p>“Well I’m Soobin, and this is Yeonjun.” The eldest of their group gave a small wave, “we didn’t get assigned code names so we just used our names during training sessions.”</p><p>“Even live ones?” Soobin nodded at RM’s question, “Wow, that’s surprising. Wait you never graduated?”</p><p>“No, we decided to leg it before anything happened. Safer that way as we weren’t confident to go into the field even if they thought we were.”</p><p>“Understandable, Then again, they always wanted results. Didn’t care much for what you did and how it affected you once you graduated. It was a really harsh environment.”</p><p> </p><p>Soobin shuddered at the reminder of the harder days, still fresh in his mind <strike>ice and fire, hot and cold, blood and skin</strike>. Noticing this, Yeonjun picked up the conversation, “I could imagine… What is it like? Life outside of...there?”</p><p>“I can wake up every morning and think ‘freedom’. I can eat what I want and when I want. It's weird and hard to get used to but it’s worth it.” RM replied, eyes almost shining in the street lamps with unveiled security and contentment.</p><p> </p><p>
  <strike> Worth the lives you’ve ended worth the panic and suffering you caused us, worth all the </strike>
</p><p>“So what’s the best food around here?” Soobin asked, squashing the dark intrusive thoughts creeping along the edge of his consciousness. “Judging from the smell, anything could be better than half cooked tteokbokki and sad fish cakes.”</p><p> </p><p>“When you phrase it like that, I agree. Although I think overcooked ramen takes the win for worst food” Yeonjun chipped in, grimacing playfully at the thought of the cafeteria food.</p><p>“The Chinese food down our street is pretty good, although we don’t order there that often. We normally cook or its fried chicken or a vegetable stir-fry for us.” RM said right as a motorbike zoomed past a red light on the crossing they were at.</p><p> </p><p>The quintet jumped at this, some squeezing their eyes shut whilst the shock caused wide eyes and subtly defensive postures. RM looked over the group briefly,</p><p>“Not done much situational training yet?”</p><p> </p><p>Yeonjun shook his head, “we have but not with many people, we were meant to be..ah let’s say a more quiet group. Jumping in and back out quickly. We were taught enough to deal with other situations, but mostly to get the job done.”</p><p> </p><p>Soobin added his piece to the conversation, “we were made to be pretty flexible, adapting quickly to different briefs, so we can fit in easily with any other group. So we’re more all-rounded than specialised in that sense. Of course, we still have a dedicated individual skill-set though.”</p><p> </p><p>~*~</p><p> </p><p>The conversation faded into a lighter tone compared to the tenser more probing questions that were asked as they walked into the residential district. It was quieter here, fewer pedestrians milling around, the only sign of people being the apartment lights lit up in an irregular pattern.</p><p> </p><p>The trio led them up the stairwell of a concrete block, not too shabby but far from luxury. After three flights of stairs, they were greeted with a man opening the door.</p><p>“I heard you coming up the stairs. You must be the <em>runaways </em> Jin told me about. Namjoon, the-”</p><p>“Soy sauce? Yeah, I’ve got it here.” In response to the unfinished question, RM held up the plastic bag he had been carrying.</p><p>"Great, my dinner needs it badly. Unseasoned food is not fit for consumption in this building." The new face joked before stepping back into the opening hallway, "I think we have enough places for another five people. And cutlery. It'll be quite a squish, but I think we can manage." He added on, glancing over the eight-men group crowing on the landing.</p><p> </p><p>"Right then, come on in. Just leave your shoes on the floor. Don't bother with the slippers either, we don't have enough but we've just vacuumed the place recently so it's fine."</p><p> </p><p>The apartment wasn’t small but not large; especially for a group of 12. It was sparsely furnished, the bare necessities scattered around with personal items placed on shelves, chairs and tables. The main hallway had two doors on either side of them and led to the main room connected to the kitchen where two more people were gathered.</p><p> </p><p>RM turned back to the younger group once they had all caught up; there was a small queue in the entrance and an obstacle course created by the multiple pairs of shoes shed at the doorway.</p><p>“Now it’s risky having you here but any wrong move from any of you and we’re not going to play nicely. And we’re moving house soon so you’ll have to find us again.” He paused to let the thinly concealed threat settle in the tenser atmosphere. “On the other hand, I’m initiating Protocol 103: Truce under the Weight of Social Necessities. Nothing over food. We can deal with everything once we’re fed and settled.”</p><p>The group gave the sign of confirmation to his terms, Soobin whispering “Protocol 103 was changed to Protocol 95a.5 a year ago, it’s all fine” in response to the younger members' confusion.</p><p> </p><p>RM gave no sign he heard as he turned around and introduced the three new faces in the room: “The one cooking is Jin and the other by the sink is Yoongi or Suga. The one at the door is Taehyung or V.” </p><p>Jin turned around and gave a small wave with the spoon he was holding over a saucepan filled with vegetables. Suga didn’t turn around but gave a small gesture from behind his back. </p><p>V smiled and turned to RM, “Dinner is done, I’ll go get Jimin.” He brushed past the group, turning into an open door by the end of the living room. “You can sit in the living room, we can take some chairs from the kitchen in there.”</p><p>At that, RM drifted into the kitchen area, grabbing plates and cutlery from cupboards and drawers, still keeping an eye on the group loitering by the living room doorway, “it’s fine, you can take the big sofa.”</p><p>With no movement coming from the group, Soobin took the lead and moved towards the couch, “Thanks.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Not to offend anyone with the stereotypical "dodgy" person, but sadly unconscious bias is a thing, and judgement based on the image is particularly bad in (South) Korea, I believe. So I’ve still included this here.</p><p>I’ve foregone the honorifics between BTS and TXT mainly because they’ll always be used and it becomes really clogged up with honorifics. However, I’ll still try and use more polite language to emulate that.</p><p>You might notice that I refer to Namjoon as RM here. That’s mainly because that’s how Soobin has mentally labelled him. The names will switch every couple of chapters and change in the character’s mind. I hope it isn’t too confusing. (The number of times I had to change Namjoon to RM….)</p><p>Following Korean (Asian) culture, people take off their shoes and normally wear slippers inside the house. Slippers are sometimes offered to guests. But since this is an unusual situation for polite protocols, I've gone for the standard "we've cleaned so it's fine, also you have socks" method. </p><p>I’ve gone back with the last couple chapters and edited the formatting and a few grammar errors. Nothing contextual has changed, just made it easier to read.<br/>Also, I hope the dialogue flows nicely. Writing a conversation for more than three people is hard.</p><p>I’ve finally worked out an update schedule! I’ll be posting a new chapter every 2 weeks. Its a bit longer than other fics out there but I have a wrist injury that I do not want to aggravate. If I do upload a double update then I’ll still post another chapter in two weeks. Hopefully, this will work out and I’ll also post any changes to the schedule (temporary or permanent) beforehand.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Soobin</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>There is food. And an explanation. We're still at the beginning.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>As the rest slowly sat on the couch, all slightly put on edge by the new environment and sudden change of event. But Soobin did feel like one burden was lifted off the group's worries: they had found BTS.</p><p> </p><p>Huening kept fiddling with the hem of his shirt, a small habit he picked up to distract himself from anything bothering him. It didn't have to be a shirt; his hair, fingers, other people's clothing; or even just humming simple tunes he either picked up or made along the way. It got him into a lot of trouble in the Compound, always full of energy <strike>as he was made designed created formed picked. </strike></p><p> </p><p>He waited until Huening spoke: pushing never went far. Kai liked to ponder and mull over the thoughts and words in his head for a bit before speaking out loud. His words and actions always conveyed meaning or purpose behind them.</p><p>"I...Ho...J-Hope feels familiar to me. On a wavelength scale." Kai spoke, Soobin feeling his eyebrows raise in the mirror to Taehyun's.</p><p>A wavelength level of familiarity was strange for someone he had only met within a day. <strike>Time no time no time we’re lost. </strike> It took them months and years to get to that level, where they could predict each other’s thoughts, feelings and actions through the energy bonds that held them together.</p><p>But for J-Hope to reach that level, and so quickly, was near impossible.</p><p>Unaffected by the sudden wave of confusion that hit the group, Kai continued,</p><p>"It's not like the bond I have with you guys, it's more...distant, artificial. But it's pulling at me"</p><p>How his face didn't present a single slither of whatever thought or emotional unrest this had caused him, Soobin did not know. The group gave up on cracking Huening's permanent poker face years ago.</p><p>"Do you think he has a link with you? Like on a familial level or something else?" Taehyun chipped in, “Can you sense him?”</p><p>Huening Kai shook his head, “Not on a familial level, but I can sense him, it’s like a small buzz.”</p><p> </p><p>Beomgyu opened his mouth to question Kai further, but as he did, V came back into the room from the side room to the group’s left. Another man followed him, presumably Jimin from what V had said earlier. They both were in a light conversation, their talk ending as they entered the living room. V continued into the kitchen (presumably to grab the food that was cooking, '<em>it smells delicious’ </em>) but Jimin approached the group: Beomgyu catching the beginning of his question and Huening retreating into his mental shell.</p><p> </p><p>“So,” Jimin raised an eyebrow, “escapees huh? Anything new over there?” He asked, unusually blunt towards what seemed like a group of teenagers (Soobin could hear Yeonjun going, ‘I’m an adult now!’ in response to his that).</p><p>Yeonjun shrugged, unaware of Soobin’s thoughts, “No idea, I supposed it’s changed. Been a while since your group escaped.”</p><p>“A while? It’s only been two years. Still, how do you know us?”</p><p>“Found your files, plus there’s plenty of rumours going around about you guys.”</p><p> </p><p>The conversation (interrogation?) motioned to continue but was interrupted by the arrival of food. Multiple plates filled with food: noodles, pork, vegetables; ventured into the living room and were set onto the coffee table in front of them. Cutlery was piled into the middle and bowls of rice passed around the dinner circle that had formed, BTS opposite the coffee table and the couch TXT were sitting on.</p><p> </p><p>The awkward tension was broken by Suga reaching for the serving spoon by the pork: people reaching out for food and the water jug set on the floor. The group of five hesitated before Jin mentioned to Beongyu’s bowl, “here, let me serve you.”</p><p>Beomgyu paused for a second, searching Jin’s face before handing over his bowl. Yeonjun also reached around Taehyun for the vegetable stir-fry; spooning copious amounts onto his and Kai’s bowl.</p><p>The group ate in relative silence, polite compliments given to Jin as their bowls slowly emptied. Light conversation broke out after the sudden silence in response to J-Hope knocking a half-full cup of water over by the table leg. Nothing too heavy was spoken about, more so about the relevant pop-culture and things to expect outside the Compound: Things that had weirded out the elder group when they first explored the outside world.</p><p> </p><p>“Oh, there are still other things like tax and... moragate?” J-Hope started</p><p>“Mortgage” Jin corrected.</p><p>“Yeah that. We still don’t get it, except for the older ones, so Si Hyuk-ssi helps us out with that.”</p><p>“Si Hyuk-ssi?” Yeonjun asked, feeling more comfortable interrupting the conversation after having an amicable dinner.</p><p>“Yeah, uh, well...Bang Si Hyuk. He’s someone who helped us escape..and now aids us with <em> normal </em> things”</p><p>"Normal things?" Soobin asked, wanting to know about the new world they've ventured into.</p><p>"Yeah, things like the commercial electronics and movies and all of the 'fun facts' everyone seems to know," Jungkook said around a mouthful of meat.</p><p> </p><p>"Ah… uh...We know most of that stuff. Due to the nature of our group we had to learn quite a bit of pop culture outside the Compound," Soobin said, avoiding the unknowns of addressing the elder group. Did he use their code names or real names? RM mentioned that most of them preferred using their real names, but using their real names off the bat seemed impolite. But also whilst using their code names seemed the better option, Soobin didn't want them to feel uncomfortable.</p><p> </p><p>"Right. That would make more sense. But did they teach you any street sense?" V added.</p><p>"Street… sense?" Beomgyu asked</p><p>"I guess not then. Things like subtle insults and when to follow social cues," he answered</p><p> </p><p>Yeonjun picked up the conversation from there, "not so much on that. Some things were definitely not mentioned when we came here." His forehead crinkled in thought, "I guess we had general training in that? Picking up social cues I mean. They had no use for a group who got too tense over sarcastic threats. That would be too suspicious."</p><p> </p><p>Dinner continued over similar conversations, Soobin picking up the hidden questions and prods the other group gave them. They didn't fully trust each other, but the quintet's openness and the collective sated hunger helped to ease the atmosphere.</p><p> </p><p>~*~</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The tension in the room did rise as the table was cleared and plates washed and dried over the ends of the dinner conversations. BTS had questions and TXT were worried how far they would go.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Their minds pulsed with random snippets to fill the sudden silence. </span>
  <em>
    <span>'Would they suddenly jump into the questions, or would they slowly ease into them. Was the friendliness just a ploy to lure them into an ease, they might just attack them without any warning, no questions asked even.' </span>
  </em>
  <span>Soobin's thoughts were filled with disaster after disaster, the catastrophic thinking causing him to fall down the rabbit hole of despair.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Finally, RM broke the silence, and with that, Soobin's endless chain of thoughts.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I'll be blunt here. Why are you here?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Freed from the haze of </span>
  <em>
    <span>what-ifs</span>
  </em>
  <span> and </span>
  <em>
    <span>would-they </span>
  </em>
  <span>Soobin answered,</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"We mean no harm! I mean, we're escapees from 2027. Made and raised by the Compound but free from their values and ideals. We were designed to be a versatile team of time travellers: assisting other groups and performing quick exchanges on solo group missions. Each one of us plays a role in the time travelling. We found out about you through a series of rumours and stolen files floating around. Another trainee of our pre-assembled group managed to hack into the main files and we got the full picture." He rattled off, panic slowly rising to an almost noticeable level as the past events came crashing down onto his awareness.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"We… uh… vaguely know what you did to the old Compound, and...uh… a general overview of your group. But your files were slightly jumbled, so we don't know everything." Soobin ended, stumbling over his words as his panic added to his nervousness. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The older group seemed to lose some of the tension, at his brief explanation, although they weren't fully at ease.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jin gave a smile at them, "they're telling the truth." He said to the elders, "and you," he added towards the quintet, "got very lucky to have escaped like that."</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"We know." Yeonjun said, "We cut it very close and had to improvise half the time but we've done it."</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"We would rather die than graduate." Beomgyu subconsciously added in a whisper. But the proximity of the rest of the group made sure some of the previous escapees heard it.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Yeonjun noticed the slightly more uncomfortable mood in the room and quickly tried to lighten it;</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Why don't we introduce ourselves then, it might be easier knowing who you've been speaking to for the past hour or so."</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Taehyung looked thankful for the easy break in the dismal tone, "That sounds good." He gives a small boxy grin, "You guys know me as V, but call me Taehyung. I have Presence."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He started.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Presence? As in the-" Soobin made wavy hand motions as if to imitate heat waves shimmering in the air.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Taehyung nodded, "Yeah, Presence is what it's officially called. You know anyone else with the same thing?"</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Soobin shook his head, "I know someone with similar effects but not the same thing. You really managed to trash their data when you broke out."</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The group in front of them gave a collective flinch at this. "Oh. Was that a...I'll shut up now." Soobin finished lamely, giving a weak laugh.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Huening Kai raised a hand, "Huening Kai, Kai works as well. Your resident battery and spear." he deadpanned, filling in the awkward gap left drifting in the air. Soobin had hoped that meeting new people and </span>
  <span>actually, it's a miracle</span>
  <span> escaping would finally crack the manacles on his emotional restrictions, but still, nothing. Kai's poker face had not changed at all in the last years no matter what they tried.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Jin." The brunet carried on, "Got control over the biological system." He gave an easy laugh, "no code name."</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>'</span>
  <em>
    <span>So that's why he could tell if I was lying</span>
  </em>
  <span>' Soobin thought, '</span>
  <em>
    <span>His powers literally make him into a loving lie detector. An interesting approach; not many people would even think of that in the first place.</span>
  </em>
  <span>'</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"No code name either, so Jimin is fine." Jimin leaned forwards, "I'm your lucky guy."</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Lucky as in lucky? Or lucky as in </span>
  <em>
    <span>Lucky?</span>
  </em>
  <span>" Yeonjun asked, an intended expression on this face.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"More...</span>
  <em>
    <span>Lucky</span>
  </em>
  <span>. It works wonders when you're late for something or you feel like it's a bad day."</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Huh." Yeonjun seemed like he had more questions. But reading the less trusting atmosphere (caused by the unwillingness to give up so much information in a simple introduction), he thought better and leant back into the sofa.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Beomgyu mirrored Kai and gave a quick wave, “Beomgyu, I deal with the materialisation of the whole time travel process."</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jin looked interested at this, "so do you like make sure parts don't swap, or keep things together?"</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Not really, it's more breaking things down and put them back together afterwards" Beomgyu responded</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"That's all interesting but we can talk about specifics later." Yeonjun cut in, causing the discussion to cease, "I'm Yeonjun, I got the time part of time travel. Surprisingly more complicated than you think"</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"How could it be more complicated than time travel?" Suga murmured, pondering over this phenomenon, before glancing up at the group who had heard his question. "Ah, we can go over that later. Suga, call me Yoongi. I've got-"</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Fire control" Taehyun blurted out, "Sorry, I just…" He gave a small sigh. Beomgyu took pity on him and answered: "There were quite a few rumours going around. Your group were quite the role models for a lot of trainees."</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Fighting back the embarrassment, Taehyun continued, "Uh, I'm Taehyun. I have… mental control"</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Like telekinesis?" J-hope asked</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Not quite, more like I can create a mental connection between people and we can speak down that. Also, I keep them sane during a time jump. Quite literally." He gave a small chuckle at that.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Huh, interesting," J-Hope responded, "Well I'm J-Hope, call me Hoseok, I can generate energy shields and small blasts”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Wait. Kai?” Yeonjun cut through, looking at the mentioned member, “Is that why…”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Huening gave a small nod, “I think so…” He looked around at the seven seated in front of them, “could I…” He waved around his hands a bit</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Namjoon looked confused before understanding passed his face, “it’s fine but keep it small.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Huening pressed his index and thumb together and pulled them apart, a crackle of energy connecting them as they spread. Hoseok gave a small sound of agreement and splayed open his hand, palm up: generating a small dome of the same energy above.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That must be the weird connection I felt”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No wonder I’ve been feeling weird over dinner,” They said at the same time.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Soobin could see a few raised eyebrows and impressed looks. Pride welled up in his chest. That was the youngest teammate, already on par with the legendary BTS' J-Hope!</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Once the excitement and trepidation had faded at the casual show of abilities, RM spoke up.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“RM, but please call me Namjoon. I have an animal and nature affinity. Also, I'm the leader of this bunch” He smiled, showing off his dimples.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Soobin met his strong gaze, “I’m also the leader of this group, Soobin, and I have the most common ability here: teleportation.” He spoke, suddenly feeling a little self-conscious with the wide variety of abilities in the small living room.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span> Jungkook flashed an easygoing smile, “I guess I’m last then. The group’s youngest and also the one with pretty boring powers,” he nodded towards Soobin, “enhanced abilities here. No code name so just Jungkook is fine.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Soobin nodded back, finding a common ground with Jungkook. “That’s our youngest,” he said, pointing at Huening Kai who cupped his hands under his chin. “Still, enhanced abilities are neat.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Back to you, everyone wants to be able to teleport,” Jungkook replied before stretching.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Namjoon stood up, smoothing out his pants. “We’ll get you some stuff soon: the essentials and such. Plus since Jin said you weren’t lying when you said that you meant no harm; so I hope I can trust you not to suffocate me in my sleep. You can sleep in the living room tonight,” He looked at the 11 people in front of him, “I </span>
  <em>
    <span>think </span>
  </em>
  <span>we have enough blankets and pillows to go around.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>~*~</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The lights had been switched off and all Soobin could hear was the gentle breathing of his group mates and the quiet banter of the residences as they got ready to sleep. It was noisier than he was used to: with the sound of the outside traffic and the humming of electronics and fans in the background. It wasn’t unnerving, nor was it comforting. Just different. Whether it was a good difference or a bad difference could be decided in the morning. Soobin closed his eyes and fell into the liberating freedom of his imagination.</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Also, although there is a friendly (-ish) atmosphere at dinner, TXT are still some random strangers who admit to looking for BTS. If this was a darker fic, I would not have made each group trust each other so much. Still, I’m trying to convey small amounts of trust and a lighter atmosphere whilst conveying distrust and a sense of uneasiness.</p><p>I do write in British-English and while I don’t go around actively changing every little bit of grammar and vocabulary, I will try and use words that I find confusing to others outside of the UK.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Jimin</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>It’s awkward, it’s early, there’s small talk but the real question is milk or cereal first? (The answer is the bowl obviously.)</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em>
    <span>'This was new,'</span>
  </em>
  <span> Jimin thought, he woke up early for once. Hoseok and Taehyung were still dreaming away and the sun was happily rising just above the skyline. It was late 7 in the morning, from what his phone had said. He normally woke up later compared to the others but he couldn't hear the sound of the kettle or the quiet chatter of Namjoon and Jim he usually heard in the kitchen.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He tried to go back to sleep, to catch the extra hours he could, but no. His eyes simply did not want to stay shut, nor was the sunlight coming in through the cracks in the curtains helped.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>So he swung out of bed and quietly padded out of the room into the bathroom, trying not to wake the other two who were still sleeping.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>As he shut the door to the bedroom, holding his towel and a bundle of clothes for the day, he realised what had made his brain decide to wake up early today. New people. Strange new people. And they were still sleeping in the living room it seemed.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Now, Jimin wasn't against them being here. They were scared, nervous and had nowhere to go and no other plans other than just </span>
  <em>
    <span>run</span>
  </em>
  <span>. But he didn't trust them yet. Not fully. He would happily give them a roof to stay under, food and warmth. But he wouldn't trust them to look after his drink at a bar, or look after a sick member.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>'</span>
  <em>
    <span>Ah,</span>
  </em>
  <span>' he thought as he washed up for the morning, '</span>
  <em>
    <span>we'd have to change our moving plans if they're staying with us.</span>
  </em>
  <span>' They were going to move to a house instead of another apartment this time. The apartment wasn't bad or terrible but it wasn't the ideal place to live in for seven guys. They needed more space: the kitchen and living room were strained for space with meals. The fact that they managed to fit twelve people into the living room last night was a miracle. But if the new group were staying with them, which was very likely ('</span>
  <em>
    <span>where else would they go, and who would they learn from? Si-Hyuk is busier now compared to when we escaped, plus that was planned</span>
  </em>
  <span>'), then the new house wouldn't change the current situation. </span>
  <em>
    <span>'So more house searching</span>
  </em>
  <span>,' Jimin concluded, stepping back into the hallway, '</span>
  <em>
    <span>Oh the joy.</span>
  </em>
  <span>'</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The five new arrivals were sleeping in the living room, curtains drawn over the large windows by the clothing rack. Blankets were piled up in a crude imitation of a mattress next to a slightly deflated blow-up bed. Pillows were strewn over the sofa where two more boys were sleeping. One area was empty, the blankets folded and a pillow placed on top. A quick glance into the kitchen found the lone awake member sitting down: staring blankly at the clock.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jimin tussled with the idea of going back to bed and completely avoiding the awkward confrontation that would follow if he ventured into the kitchen. But the curiosity of having a proper conversation with an escapee (and a time-travelling one to add) won the small battle over.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He made his steps purposefully loud and his presence known as he approached the kitchen area. Letting someone lost in thought (and a </span>
  <span>probably traumatised</span>
  <span> powered person at that) know you’re approaching them was better when you’re not trying to jump scare them. The only other awake resident looked up at the sound of Jimin’s comically loud footsteps, eyes wide open and focused; a quick change from his blank and unseeing expression beforehand.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"....Good morning?" he said, voice rising at the end of his sentence. The boy was clearly tense, caught in a delicate situation with a sleeping household and with a near-stranger suddenly approaching him in solitude.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Morning. It's… Beomgyu right? Or is it Taehyun? It'll take me a while to get used to five new people." Jimin said, trying to ease the boy into a more relaxed manner. He slid into the chair diagonally opposite him, a safe area where he can look at the boy whilst talking but not make it feel too confrontational.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"No you're right, it's Beomgyu. I- There- Is anyone else awake yet?" He asked, still not awake himself.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Not yet, it's early for all of us. Normally either Jin or Namjoon gets up first. Are you hungry yet?"</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Beomgyu Ah-ed at the tidbit of information and paused at the question, "Just a bit hungry really."</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jimin nodded, “It’s still early for everyone, so I don’t think they would appreciate being woken up by our cooking.” He stood up and rummaged around the cupboards and fridge, “There’s not much here. But I think we still have some cereal if you want? Or we could wait until the others wake up but that’ll take a couple of hours.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Cereal is fine.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jimin nodded in response, considering the boxes in front of him, “You’ll probably not want something too sweet: your body isn’t ready for the level of sugar in a chocolate cereal,” he pulled out a box of muesli and cornflakes and presented them to Beomgyu, “something light or heavy?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Light I think?” he replied. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jimin set the box onto the counter, storing the muesli back into the cupboard. He pulled out two bowls and spoons from the drying rack by the sink and a bottle of milk from the fridge. Setting the items onto the table, he poured milk and cereal into his bowl and started eating.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The silence built up as the two ate their cereal. Wanting to break the stagnant feeling, Jimin searched for an easy topic to talk about. The Compound was clearly a common ground, but it was still a touchy topic, and not one to suddenly talk about so early in the morning. He couldn’t talk about any of the movies or recent releases of anything since he didn’t know how much Beomgyu (or the rest of the newer group) really knew; which would end the conversation rather quickly really. His mind flickered between the two, hoping to miraculously come up with a good topic to talk about.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Did you still have to go through the compulsory readings they did?” He finally asked, touching upon a topic about the Compound but was still light enough to not dredge up any darker thoughts. Beomgyu perked up at the question, the silence also getting to him.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Not everyone did those but we did, came with the whole act normal in a new environment thing we had.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jimin hummed at this, trying to remember the reading lists they struggled through years ago.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, they were compulsory for everyone when we did them. Not entirely sure why but I did enjoy the Lord of the Rings and the Harry Potter series.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I love the Harry Potter Series! What house are you in? I’m in Hufflepuff.” Beomgyu’s voice raised a couple of notches in volume, his excitement drawing him out of his quiet shell.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Slytherin according to RM, although some people think I’m in Hufflepuff.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Your favourite character?” Beomgyu asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Luna Lovegood, she gets all the interesting lines and they do make some sort of sense if you think about it. How about you?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Professor Lupin. He’s a werewolf, wizard, ex-mauderer, best defence teacher they’ve had and also gives out free chocolate! What else could you want?” Beomgyu pushed away his empty cereal bowl, “If you could go to Hogwarts, what would your favourite subject be?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jimin hesitated at this question, this was a hard one. “Ah, it’s difficult but I think either Charms or Astronomy.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Nice, charms sound fun but I think I would choose Magical Theory instead of Astronomy.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jimin collected the two empty bowls and set them in the sink, “Have you seen the movies?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“There’s a movie?” Beomgyu sounded surprised as he turned in his chair to face Jimin, “We never really got to watch many movies back there.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What! You need to see them, there are also Harry Potter theme parks around the world which you can go to.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Beomgyu flopped dramatically onto the table, Jimin gave a small laugh at this, “I guess we have to catch you up on the things you’ve missed over there.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Beomgyu looked up and smiled, an adorable sight with his bed hair and wide eyes.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A small rustling sound from the living room jolted both of them out of their easy-going conversation. They both glanced into the living room to see another boy sitting up in the nest of blankets and pillows.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Huening, good morning” Beomgyu called from his seat, Jimin giving a small smile and a wave.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The recently awoken member mumbled an unheard greeting in return, seemingly gathering energy to get up and get ready for the day. Finally opening his eyes and taking in his surroundings he looked at Beomgyu for a while.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We’re….where again?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Safe, escaped and in their apartment. The bathroom is over there Kai.” Beomgyu said, gently steering the boy that had approached the kitchen table towards the hallway. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>As Huening Kai shuffled towards the door Beomgyu turned around to face Jimin, “I- uh, hope you don’t mind me using your bathroom?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jimin waved a hand, “I don’t mind, I mean, you’ve slept over so it makes sense anyway.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>~*~</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The two continued their small talk, Jimin putting the kettle on halfway through. Huening Kai joined them with a cup of warm water, refusing Jimin’s offer of cereal.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The rest of the household started waking up closer to 9 o’clock. Jin shuffled out of the room he shared with Suga and into the bathroom not noticing the stifled smiles the trio had at his bed hair and sleepy expression. Namjoon woke up next, having already freshened up in his ensuite bathroom. He quietly padded around the still sleeping boys in the living room towards those sitting at the kitchen table.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Morning," he said before blinking at Jimin, "you're not normally awake this early."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jimin shook his head, "woke up and couldn't get back to sleep. Decided to grab an early breakfast when I saw that Beomgyu was already awake."</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Beomgyu had already retreated underneath his shy shell, probably because of the appearance of so many new people. Namjoon took no notice of the boy's silence and simply grabbed an apple from the fruit bowl.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"So, I don't have anything planned today apart from a quick shop in the afternoon." Namjoon said after taking a bite out of his apple, "anything you want to do today?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jimin cupped his chin with his hand, "I don't think I have anything in particular...didn't you already go shopping last night?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"We did, but that was the emergency shop for the soy sauce. I think we have a grocery run today. We need to do it a bit earlier too since the shops close at 7 on Saturdays." Namjoon replied.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jimin nodded at this. The two boys still at the table were quiet. Huening Kai slowly sipped his cup of warm water. Beomgyu looked at the clock, Jimin following his gaze, '</span>
  <em>
    <span>9:30 on to the dot, what's he waiting for?</span>
  </em>
  <span>'</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A yawn and the rustling of blankets was heard from the living room. The other three boys had woken up; with sleepy expressions and mussed-up hair they looked like those fluffy parrotlets from the videos Jin liked to watch.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Morning." As if his thoughts had summoned him, Jin walked into the main area. Walking around the three awake boys, he opened the curtains and sunlight stretched into the room: spilling into the corners like golden gossamer. The sun was quite high in the sky, the blue sky sparsely dotted with white clouds. It was a perfect day in sequel to the dramatic encounter yesterday evening.</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Some changes have been made:<br/>[2021/02/10]<br/>I have moved the Disclaimer/Author’s Note notes to the end of the first chapter. This has been bugging me for ages and it feels so much better like this.</p><p>I've slowly been editing the past chapters: correcting grammar, sentence flow and some formatting issues.</p><p>I've also finally fixed the introduction part of the previous chapter to feel less rushed, and more conversational. Dialogue is not my strong point (descriptive writing is, which comes more into the angst chapters). So why I decided to write for 12 main characters I have no idea. Also giving them all equal parts is hard: fitting them into the context, lines, characterisation… ugh… It doesn't add too much to the core of it all, and the introductions are the same and some more hints to the characterisation and powers; it isn't completely necessary to read it, but it does flesh out their characters more and clears up some unintentional vagueness.</p><p>I've also added a few more tags, including a trauma and PTSD tag. These tags aren't going to be properly seen in context for a while (we have one more lighter arc to go before we hit the angsty bad side of things) but I think that it's better to have a warning for people reading it for the first time to know what's coming (and also for you guys to know).<br/>[That’s quite a few changes and it’s kinda a mess but it works now! Hopefully, when I look back in my next editing spree I’m happy with everything.]</p><p> </p><p>The fact that there is information about how BTS eats cereal is somewhat scary but also very useful for writing this. Thank you internet???</p><p>The Hogwarts Houses for TXT are taken from their T:Time posted 11th Feb 2020 and BTS’ Houses are from RM’s response to a fansign in 2017. Apart from that, all of their views about the Harry Potter series are completely made up.</p><p>Dorm wise, this is BTS’ 2nd Dorm, just with less stuff in it. Storyline wise, they were going to move to a slightly bigger dorm (not their current one, just similar but bigger) but with 5 new people, who were unlikely to live separately, they’re going to cancel their deposit and look for a new place (a small house). There isn’t much information about who rooms with who in the 2nd dorm so I’ve just gone with the what small facts we know about it and combined it with their current roomings.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Yoongi</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Hyung line time, also a bit of SooBread.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>After a quick lunch of veg, stir-fry pork and rice, the emptiness of the fridge and pantry coaxed them to go out grocery shopping. As the designated top chefs of the household, Jin and Yoongi often went out for these runs: to plan out the meals ahead of time. They also decided to let a couple of the new arrivals join them. Not to break up the group or to question them by themselves, just to… observe them in a different environment than they were used to. So, after a heated game of rock-paper-scissors between the younger group, Yeonjun and Soobin joined the elder duo on the store-run.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The new arrivals were excited to explore their new world. It didn’t seem unusual or off to Yoongi, but it never hurt to be a bit more paranoid around new people from the Compound, even if they were telling the truth. After all, when they had first come into contact with the outside world, all they had wanted to do was to explore and become familiar with this strange new home.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Earlier this morning, they had a small meeting, setting up boundaries and confirming some speculations. TXT, as they said to refer to them as their full group-name was a mouthful, was from the future (2027 to be exact) when the Compound was still up and running. It didn’t seem possible, not after BTS had escaped it and left behind piles of burning bodies and an ash-covered skeleton of a building behind, but more than 10 years had passed before the younger group’s time.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The group had escaped with the intentions of finding a completely new life outside the compound. They had seen the outside world on their practical training sessions (</span>
  <em>
    <span>‘time travel was such a weird concept sometimes, teleporting as well as changing time anchors?!’</span>
  </em>
  <span>) and wanted to leave their sheltered life and learn more about the outside. They had heard about a group that had previously escaped (‘</span>
  <em>
    <span>We’re infamous now, people look up to us, isn’t that weird’</span>
  </em>
  <span>) through word of mouth from the younger, more talkative interns and nurses at the Compound and after a bit of digging, uncovered the details of BTS that the Compound tried so hard to hide.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>All of this was confirmed by Jin. ‘</span>
  <em>
    <span>What would we do without his ability as a human lie detector...I’m glad we discovered this ability. Namjoon really thinks outside the box.</span>
  </em>
  <span>’ But Yoongi had this gut feeling that this was not all to their story, and they were hiding something not-too crucial to their story and summary of their powers. His instincts were usually right, but... ‘</span>
  <em>
    <span>My worries can wait until later since they’re not here to harm us nor take us back. All they want is somewhere safe to be and to not go back to the Compound. I can ask them more questions later.</span>
  </em>
  <span>’ He decided. Putting his inner worries to the back of his mind, </span>
  <strike>
    <span>where the rest of that dark clump sat, growing, mutating, pulsating </span>
  </strike>
  <span>he concentrated on crossing the road in front of the group.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>~*~</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It was a quiet Saturday afternoon, groups of people milling around and enjoying the sunshine and rare warmth it offered in mid-March. It wasn’t normally this warm but the sun decided to shine accompanied by a gentle breeze. The past week had been pleasantly calm for Yoongi and his teammates: having completed the majority of their mid-term assessments the week before had left them in a drowsy state; with little work to do. Online school was so much different from the Compound. Yes, there was stress, looming dread and sleepless nights but there wasn’t the impending worry of harsh punishment or termination. Yoongi found that he enjoyed learning in this relaxed environment much better: resulting in the utter bewilderment of his classmates he saw in his compulsory offline lectures. The university campus he went for those lectures and milestone checkups were ridden with caffeinated zombies and harried students rushing for their next lesson or to work to the deadline tomorrow.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Catching himself from zoning out even further, Yoongi found Jin and the two boys in a light discussion about things unfamiliar to the newer residents of their group. The boys were adapting better to their new environment than they had years back. ‘</span>
  <em>
    <span>Probably due to their different education back in the Compound. I wish they taught everyone how to deal with the world outside the Compound, but no. We just had to be an outdoor orientated group.</span>
  </em>
  <span>’</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jin was explaining the concept of supermarket sales to the younger duo when they had asked what the “1+1” signs had meant.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So when you buy one item, you can get your second one free.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But what if you get two items, do you get another two for free?” The taller one (‘</span>
  <em>
    <span>was it Soobin?</span>
  </em>
  <span>’) asked, “And what about those “2+1” signs?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes, you do get another two for free. Those 2+1 signs mean ‘buy two get one free’ normally it doesn’t go any higher than that unless the shops have too much stock with an approaching expiry date or if something isn’t selling.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The shorter one stuck out his bottom lip in confusion, “but why do they do that?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Yoongi spoke up, “It’s just a marketing strategy. Either to get rid of items no one is buying or to make people buy the item even if they weren’t going to in the first place.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Huh?” the boy replied, confused with the latter half of his sentence, “Why would people want things they didn’t need to get in the first place?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“People tend to buy things just because they’re cheap. It’s a psychological effect: they think they’re spending less money.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But aren’t they spending more money than they planned?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Exactly, and that’s why shops do that. To make a larger profit.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“How do you know this much?” Yeonjun asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I have a few friends in marketing,” Yoongi answered, “So Jin knows them through me.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We’re more acquaintances than familiar but I have picked up some tidbits thorough them.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Marketing?” Yeonjun continued, eyebrows furrowed in puzzlement.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I take a blended online course for university, so I have lessons online and the odd lecture in person every couple days.” Jin replied, “It’s easier for us in the beginning, to get used to the schooling system here: it’s a lot more relaxed.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We can get a degree?” Soobin asked, surprised at this sudden occurrence, “I never really thought about anything longterm.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You don’t need to decide now, you have the freedom to do whatever you want at the moment. Enjoy that for now” Jin finished.</span>
</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>
  <span>~*~</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The group of four stopped at the entrance of the shop, the sun still relatively high in the sky but starting to set.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We need to hurry, dinner is in a couple of hours and we need to prepare,” Jin said, checking the time on his phone.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It would be better if we split up...are you okay with that?” Yoongi asked, turning to the duo staring at the interior of the supermarket in front of them.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sorry what was the question?” The Soobin asked. Yoongi had finally sorted out their names: the taller one was Soobin and the other was Yeonjun. Soobin had eyes like macarons and a contrasting jawline whilst Yeonjun had fox-like eyes and a triangular top lip.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Yoongi repeated his question, Soobin nodding in answer, “Yeah we’re fine with that. Yeonjun?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Mhm, that’s also fine. Shall I go with Jin?” Yeonjun replied, looking at the man in question.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Yoongi shared a surprised look with Jin at the two being willing to split up with each other and in an unfamiliar environment, for weeks after their initial escape, the seven of them never separated: not even in pairs or let alone on their own.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m happy with that. I normally get the meat and fresh produce for the week. Can you handle the rest?” Jin asked</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah. Snacks, bread, cereal, and whatever’s left right?” Yoongi replied</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Seems right to me. We can meet back up by the drinks aisle, we can do an inventory and estimate the total against our week’s budget.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The four grabbed a trolley for each pair and split up. Jin and Yeonjun headed right, towards the fruit and veg first. The aisle would then head towards the deli and meats whilst Yoongi and Soobin veered left towards the further end of the supermarket where they would find the snacks and cleaning products.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>~*~</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Soobin was confused at the new products, Yoongi could see it in the way he picked up random boxes and bags of products off the shelf and read the labels and bold text proclaiming deals and advertising on the packaging and then placed them back onto the shelves. He didn’t say it out loud but it was rather cute, seeing this tall boy walk around excited and amazed by this new environment. ‘</span>
  <em>
    <span>I guess they didn’t go into supermarkets on their practical training, nor did get much material on them. I mean, they don’t show the entire shopping experiences in whatever educational documentaries they were given.</span>
  </em>
  <span>’</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>After a debate broke out that morning, about if the newer arrivals could leave the house and not gain too much attention; the group had explained the extent of their practical training. They had basic common sense: the dos-and don’ts of street crossing; the basics of general shopping (although they haven’t done it much themselves, as Taehyun had mentioned); and how to match outfits together to look like the average person. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Yeonjun and Soobin were currently wearing a mix-match of BTS’ clothes. They didn’t fit perfectly: some of the trousers and shirt sleeves were a bit tight in some places and too big in others but after some fussing, the duo looked good enough to go outside. The rest of the new arrivals stayed behind; their clothes from the Compound meticulously checked for any trackers and were thrown into the washing machine as soon as Jungkook had dug out some of their old clothes. As soon as they had changed and the uniforms were in the wash: any identifying features were burned in a nearby metal trash can; an unknown element of tension faded away from the apartment. None of them noticed how much the atmosphere had grown tight around the reminders of the Compound.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The trolley now filled with detergent and boxes of crackers arrived at the bakery outside the drinks aisle. Toiletries piled up in one half of the trolley whilst snacks and a couple tins of powdered coffee and hot chocolate were stacked in a corner, next to a box of cookies.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“They’ll take a bit longer than us, Jin’s quite picky about the quality of the fruits and veg here, so we can go take some samples,” Yoongi said, looking around as he talked: searching for the other two near the end of the other aisles.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Samples…?” Soobin asked, nose scrunching in confusion.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ah, they probably never told you about them." Yoongi paused, contemplating how to word this, "Samples are like a small version of an actual product that people can try."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"And they just give them out?" Soobin asked, looking at the trays lined with small pieces of bread and pastries on the countertop of the bakery section.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Yeah, it's another marketing thing, helps them make more money or something."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"People like making more money," Soobin mumbled, "So we can just take it?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>To answer, Yoongi took a small piece of a pastry off a tray and held it to the younger man. Soobin plucked it out of his hand and chewed it for a bit before perking up, eyes wide in wonder.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"This is so much nicer than the bread I used to have! He said, looking back at the smaller tray.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Yoongi hummed in response, judging the amount in their trolley before picking a bag of mixed pastries from the shelves and placing it behind the box of clothes detergent. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Soobin hadn't noticed this, already wandering down the road of bread. Eyes flickering between the golden brown and chocolate-covered goods. He occasionally reached out to a packet of iced doughnuts or a cinnamon swirl but never took anything.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>'</span>
  <em>
    <span>He's not used to just taking for himself. It's likely that none of them are.</span>
  </em>
  <span>' Yoongi thought to himself. The Compound was an oppressive place, filled with rules and constant surveillance. The boys hadn't left behind the feeling of being in such a stifling place. They were quiet, and answered their questions as quickly and concisely as possible, all of their movements being as efficient and quiet as possible. It would take months or even years to get used to this freer environment they had recently arrived in. Yoongi still found himself reverting to old habits from the Compound even after two years since their escape. Their actions were artificial, used to movements to not attract attention from the trainers that were stationed in every room, corridor and corner; cameras and microphones placed where people could not be stationed: hidden for the false sense of privacy. It was an efficient method to quickly remove anyone plotting against the Compound and to catch and brainwash those with seeds of doubt planted in their minds.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Yoongi!" His name was called out, turning around Yoongi spotted Jin and Yeonjun pushing a trolley along. Yeonjun looked a bit overwhelmed and was carrying a large white radish Jin had undoubtedly handed to him. Jin had the habit of passing objects to the closest person, expecting it to end up in the trolley but Yeonjun didn't quite get the idea and was left holding the radish since then. Soobin walked towards Yeonjun, who gave a small smile at the familiar face. The two engaged in a quiet conversation, whilst Jin pushed his trolley towards Yoongi.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"That seems a lot, are you sure you're still within the budget?" Yoongi asked, looking at the trolley Jin was pushing. It was filled to the brim with various fresh produce and meats: the plastic containers of fruits were stacked on top of each other, three bottles of milk balanced precariously at the far end of the trolley.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We should be, most of it was on sale so I think we’ve saved quite a bit.” Jin looked over at Yeonjun, “Oh sorry about that.” He plucked the radish out of his hands and placed it onto Yoongi’s trolley.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Did you get everything?” Jin asked, eyes roaming off their trolley: mentally ticking off the apartment’s needs for the week, “Oh good, you got more bread and toilet paper. I think we should be good on the drinks end” He said, a finger tapping against the five tins of powdered beverages.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We should be, but with the addition of five people to our living spaces, I thought we should be prepared” Yoongi replied, “Plus with the amount you’ve brought it should all be fine.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jin sighed, “I can see our monthly bills rising already. Oh well, we should go check out.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>~*~</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The group of four walked over to the cashier, unloading, bagging and packing up the goods. It was easier this time, as both Yeonjun and Soobin offered to carry some of the plastic bags back.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It’s easier when Jungkook’s here” Yoongi commented, as they walked back down the sloping main street, “He can carry a lot more bags.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Yeonjun spoke up, “He’s the one with the enhanced abilities, right?” At Jin’s nod, he continued, “Then couldn’t he just carry everything?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He has the strength to but it would be a weird sight to see a 21-year-old man holding ten bags full of groceries.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Soobin nodded in response, “So do you use </span>
  <em>
    <span>them</span>
  </em>
  <span> often?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What? Like-” Jin shifted the bags to his elbow to imitate a spark with his hand.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, </span>
  <em>
    <span>that</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Not as often as you think. Some of them aren’t as subtle, nor as useful in the average daily life here. We can survive without any added bonuses really, just a small application here and there.” Jin said, crossing the road as he spoke: they were entering the more residential section now.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Namjoon doesn’t use his that often, it doesn’t have much use in an urban environment. But Jimin likes to use his for those days when you wake up late for something: it makes life run just a bit smoother.” Yoongi said, pressing the apartment code into the main entrance door.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Yeonjun nodded, “Yeah, he did mention that last night. How about you?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Yoongi shrugged, “I’m a bit more like Namjoon, not many events to use them apart from lighting the gas stove when it refuses to turn on.”</span>
</p><p>
  <strike>
    <span>That doesn’t mean sparks fly from your hands on those nights, it’s not like you can’t control your powers, it’s not like you live in </span>
    <em>
      <span>fear </span>
    </em>
    <span>of yourself anymore.</span>
  </strike>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>~*~</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Greeted with willing helpers after a tedious climb up the apartment block’s multiple flights of stairs, the four had arrived at the apartment’s floor. Relieved of their shopping bags they headed to the living room to flop onto the sofas. Taehyung, Hoseok and Jimin started to unpack and stash away the fresher produce into the kitchen area whilst the toiletries and other items were put away by the rest. The rest of TXT were sitting in the living room, helping out where they could whilst a game of Halli Galli lay forgotten on the coffee table. The two groups melded well together, although it would take some time for them to get used to each other and to build trust. But it was working and both parties held nothing but rational paranoia against the new faces. Hoseok and Jimin were lightly joking with the younger group whilst Taehyung and Namjoon were happy to direct other members to the storage area for the toiletries.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A meal was cooked up and served, the twelve residents of the dining table squished once more into the living room. Although they still sat within their own groups, they sat closer to each other, and a light conversation easily started: carrying on the debate Beomgyu and Jimin had started earlier in the morning over the Harry Potter series. All seemed good and Yoongi hoped that the easygoing airs and friendly atmosphere held on.</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Ahahahahaha, I was checking my files and then realised I had never uploaded this....Uhm....That's all I have...<br/>I've done a bit more reformatting with the chapter names: the title is whoever's point of view the chapter is in.</p><p>There isn't that much development in this chapter, just some more worldbuilding and fleshing out the beginning, but we've made it into the next arc: Integration.<br/>There was meant to be a bit more but the chapter was getting long enough so I've decided to add it in elsewhere.<br/>I'm not amazingly happy with this chapter, but I'm already so behind on my updates so I'll do a bit of light editing here and there later.</p><p>[Edit: 13/03/2021]<br/>I did edit it! Nothing much has changed, just a couple more descriptive sections added and more dialogue expanded on to make things flow a bit nicer. Nothing to change the overall content drastically.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. Taehyung</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>When the hyungs leave, Halli Galli hilarity ensues.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>“I’ll do the dishes,” Hoseok said, standing up, “if you can get the living room back to normal that would be great.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Namjoon, Jin and the other two oldest of the new group (Jun and Subyeon? Juyeon and Suwoo?) had left after lunch to go shopping, leaving the youngest three (and Hoseok) at the apartment with little to do. It was a lazy Saturday afternoon, the sun shining and the quiet sound of traffic in the background. Someone was playing the radio somewhere in their apartment block which filled the awkward silence with the DJ’s chatter or slow ballads.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Normally, the group would be working on their coursework or lounging about: sometimes heading out for a walk. But their recent exams had left them with little work to complete and with their new guests, they couldn’t lounge about or go for a walk so easily.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Taehyung started to grab the chairs sat around the chairs and drag them back into the kitchen. Unprompted, one of the shorter (he’s still taller than you) new apartment dwellers started to move the cushions to the sofa and another began to collect some of the plates to bring into the kitchen.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It was the boy’s official first day outside the compound. It was hectic in the morning: the undercurrent of adrenaline fading after a good night’s sleep. If the younger group had any nightmares nothing sounded out at night: Namjoon who had stayed up late to check up on them heard nothing.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They had gone into more detail about their great escape this morning after they had changed and washed their crumpled and dirty (ripped in Huening Kai’s case) uniforms. Jin had confirmed the truth behind their words although he admitted that there were some half-truths and cleverly hidden events behind their story.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The tables cleared and plates washed after a simple lunch of yesterday’s meat stir-fried with veg. Now the eight boys were lounging around with nothing to do.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jimin walked into the living room carrying small boxes of cards, “I’ve got Uno and Halli Galli. I didn’t think we wanted anything too complicated to start with.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>At Taehyung’s questioning gaze and the new arrival’s confused looks he quickly defended himself, “Hey! I thought this would be a great time to just take it easy for a bit. You know...Nevermind.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>As he was talking he set the cards onto the coffee table where one of the boys grabbed one of the boxes and started reading the text on the back.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Halli Galli? Uno?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Taehyung was suddenly reminded of the drab and grey life he lived in the Compound. Eat, sleep, learn and train. There was little interaction out in the open: the cafeteria was watched by staff dressed in white at all times and any training took up all of your time. Any socialising was done within your project group or in the general dorms: done under hushed whispers in the dead of night where only cameras and microphones monitored your life. Taehyung was first introduced to Uno on their first camping trip outside the Compound by a guy from Si-Hyuk’s team who was there for security or something. ‘</span>
  <em>
    <span>That particular camping trip was a blast,’</span>
  </em>
  <span> he remembers, ‘</span>
  <em>
    <span>So much happened that day and it was one of the first times we could run around in a forest without worrying about mission objectives or training mishaps.</span>
  </em>
  <span>’ Sure, there were some minor bumps and scratches but the seven of them truly had experienced fun.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Taehyung grabbed the other box of cards, Halli Galli, “We’ll go with this one. I’ll explain the rules.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Each person gets a hand of cards,” he started, dealing out the cards, ”we take turns to turn over a card. As soon as the card you turn over shows five fruits of the same kind we ring the bell and the first player to ring the bell wins all of the revealed cards.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“The goal of the game is to get all of the cards.” Jimin finished, sitting on the floor and grabbing a pile of cards.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“House rules are to not use powers and don’t cheat,” Hoseok said sitting on Taehyung’s right, “but you don’t have to worry about that. Just get comfortable with the game.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The three boys in front of them nodded before one of them, Taehyun looked around and asked, “Is Jungkook not joining us?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“He normally would but his course has an exam on Tuesday he needs to study for,” Jimin said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>~*~</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The first few games were clumsy and messy. Then again, the three boys were still getting used to the rules and mechanics of the game: Some of them started the game by fanning out their cards and looking at them whilst Taehyun started to rifle the cards and do fancy tricks: “I learnt them from a nursing intern on his break. I think he got into trouble about it since I didn’t see him after the first week,” he explained. When the card with five fruits came down, they were slightly slower to react and sometimes rang the bell on the wrong cards; it was to be expected though.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The third game was interesting. Beomgyu had worked out the rules fully and his reflexes were viciously fast. Taehyun had also started to get the game but was just that bit slower than Beomgyu.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Jeez, you could give Jungkook a run for his money.” Hoseok joked after Beomgyu shovelled the pile of cards onto his hand after ringing the bell, “You’ve got really fast reflexes.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Huening Kai hadn’t quite gotten the rules and seemed unfamiliar with the cards, fumbling with them and dropping parts of his hand in places, Jimin helping to pick them up from his side.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>By their fourth game, they had switched to Uno: the cards dog-eared and bent from their many games. Huening Kai picked up this game faster than the other two, softly calling out Uno before the holder could and somehow having an unlimited stash of +2 cards hidden to chain onto a poor victim.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>After a quick snack and doing the remaining chores of the day: hang up TXT’s uniforms, dry the dishes and take out the trash, they switched back to one last game of Halli Galli. Huening Kai’s winning streak from Uno carried over: his reflexes being amazingly fast and he seemed to know what card came next.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Are you sure you don’t have a secondary power? Jimin light-heartedly asked, “it’s almost like you can tell the future”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>An awkward chuckle followed, “Ah no. That...We knew someone else with that power.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The room felt heavy with the sudden knowledge that TXT had left so many people behind and the fact that they didn’t want to go back.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Ah!” Jungkook suddenly yelled, startling the group sat in the solemn circle. He had walked in mid-Uno game and snacked on a bag of shrimp crackers.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Aish, what is it?” Taehyung asked, grabbing his shoulder in surprise.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re cheating!” Jungkook abruptly accused, eyes wide, pointing at Huening Kai. “It took me a while because you have such a good poker face, but you’re totally cheating.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He scrunched up his face in thought for a bit before stating, “And you’re helping him...I think” he turned to Jimin, sitting trying to look as innocent as possible. Jimin’s face was a perfect picture of innocence but the edges of his jawline and ears had started to turn pink. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yah!” Hoseok stood up, “I thought we agreed on no powers!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Huening! I thought I trusted you!” Beomgyu fell down onto the floor in excessive dramatics, clutching his chest, “So that’s why you were taking so long to ‘get used to the game’ huh?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Huening gave a small smile and giggle at the two’s actions and nodded.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Stop cheating! I thought you learnt after the last time!” Taehyun said, rising out of his seated position to face Huening Kai opposite him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, I only said that I’ll learn how to cheat better.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ugh, you-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Park Jimin! You- you- you-” Hoseok’s face was properly red now, voice fading in front of Jimin’s giggles and Taehyung’s betrayed face.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jungkook sat down in the middle of the chaos and turned to Taehyun, “It’s normally chaotic here. Good moves Huening Kai, you really have the perfect poker face.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Left on the corner of the table, Hoseok’s phone buzzed before its screen lit up with a notification. Taehyung shuffled over to read it: “Hey, the rest are coming back with a lot of shopping. Jin would throw a fit if those clothes haven’t been folded yet.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>~*~</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The group were thrown into a flurry of clothes and trips from the dryer to the closets. New group didn’t matter, Jin’s fury was not something you could ignore. Small jokes were thrown around about it to lighten the mood for them, but they were still made to work on the quick folding of t-shirts and jeans.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Clothes folded away and the living room straightened back into order (the game of Halli Galli still left on the coffee table) light conversation could finally be heard from the stairwell of their apartment block.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’ll go grab the bags from them. You can start with the fridge. I think they also got a few toiletries as well: I told them that we were running low on toothpaste.” Hoseok said, throwing a pair of slides on before opening the apartment door.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Their easygoing energy from the card games carried onwards into the sorting of the shopping and dinner. The new group talked in hushed voices about their day as BTS started to wash up. All was good and all was well. Taehyung hoped this would carrying on tomorrow and well into the future.</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>This chapter was not nice to write and I think it shows: short paragraphs, the whole text doesn’t quite flow as nicely etc. Therefore I downed an entire bag of Haribos (not sponsored) and just finished this. As usual, expect a flood of edits to come after.</p><p>I’m running out of names to call TXT in BTS’ POV. You can only use “New/Younger group” or “new arrivals” so many times…</p><p>Uno rules differ between houses and groups in general. I’m trying to use the basic ones but I might accidentally slip in a house rule I personally use so I’m sorry about that.</p><p>On the other hand, I have a carrd now??? It’s mainly for small updates and bits of planning I want to share. I’m not using twitter just because I cannot get into the habit of constantly tweeting updates but if there’s a demand for it I might consider it.</p><p>  <a href="https://clh-odl-ao3.carrd.co"> My carrd: clh-odl-ao3.carrd.co </a></p><p>(don’t expect much ((anything)) from my socials though…)</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0008"><h2>8. Yeonjun</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>[Insert legal stuff here.]<br/>Also, please read your terms and conditions; or at least skim through them. There is some worrying stuff in there if you actually go through it. (Especially the privacy policy section.)</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>In complete contrast to yesterday ('</span>
  <em>
    <span>Wait what day of the week was it?</span>
  </em>
  <span>') it was gloomy. Grey clouds blanketed the sky and a pathetic drizzle continuously droned on in the background.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Traffic filled the roads, people didn't want to walk or cycle in the absence of the sun and its warmth. Exhaust fumes filled the air and dust particulates were kicked up by the sluggish line of cars; the pitiful rain doing nothing to beat the clouds of fine dirt and dust down. And so a yellowish haze laid upon the streets and alleyways: lazy rolls of yellow ooze coating the fronts of shops and pavements. Car lamps were switched on in an attempt to pierce through the dusty clouds and slate grey sky but the gloom presided over the entire area. The gorgeous sun yesterday had kicked up a spring storm in its wake. Heavy rains were predicted for the upcoming week and wind speed was expected to pick up and river levels to rise drastically.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jungkook didn’t seem bothered by this miserable weather; neither did Jin. The former still was working on some sort of material for his next theory exam: baseline testing the others had called it, nothing like back then. </span>
  <strike>
    <span>No punishments, no drive, no motivation. How were they meant to succeed? How were they meant to survive? How were they meant to live? </span>
  </strike>
  <span> Jin said he didn’t mind the gloomy skies since he had already done the week’s shopping yesterday and most of their clothes had dried in the sunshine as well so the washing could wait a bit longer or be done in small loads.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The washing machine was an interesting contraption. Yeonjun hadn’t seen anything like it before. Then again, he hadn’t needed to clean any dishes or cook food: all of that was done behind the scenes of the Compound. All they had to do was clean up their cafeteria table and keep their rooms clean. </span>
  <span><strike>Messy is insubordination. Messy is disobedient. Insubordination is bad. Disobedience is bad. Bad means pain. Pain means-</strike> </span>
  <span>It was the small things that had started to hit close with Yeonjun: the entire “escaped, free, liberated” situation hadn’t come crashing down on him, nor has it yet on the rest of the group looking back on their past two nights of quiet and calm sleep. It was hanging over them with an air of anticipation: the Sword of Damocles if you wished.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They had spent the morning quietly: each member of the apartment quiet and subdued by the weather. Brunch (‘</span>
  <em>
    <span>Breakfast and lunch together! How cool is that?!</span>
  </em>
  <span>’) was a quiet meal of rice congee and chicken. Jin was washing up, Beomgyu and Huening Kai helping him dry and store them. RM was reading a book in his room, Jungkook doing work, Suga and the rest elsewhere. Jimin was sat on the sofa, to Yeonjun’s right, tapping at the phone in his hand. It was much larger and thicker than the ones the scientist carried around in the labs and so much smaller than the tablets Yeonjun remembered using during theory lessons back at the Compound.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It had been a quiet afternoon, people milling inbetween the rooms grabbing snacks and cups of water until a knock at the door sounded; startling Yeonjun out from his thoughts. ‘</span>
  <em>
    <span>Who was it? Had they been found out? Did they have to fight? Were they in danger?</span>
  </em>
  <span>’ His body tensed and he slowly shifted his weight onto the balls of his feet, ready to rock up into a standing position to fight.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jimin looked up from his phone at Yeonjun, “What’s wrong?” He looked at the door, “Oh ahh- Namjoon! Si-Hyuck-ssi is here!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Si-Hyuck-ssi?” Yeonjun asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hm? Did we not tell-” Jimin smacked a palm to his forehead, “We didn’t tell you. Uh, Bang Si-Hyuck-ssi is the person who got us out of the Compound in the first place. Namjoon called him here to sort out all of the legal stuff for you guys. I trust him, we all do. Don’t worry.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Yeonjun relaxed in his chair. ‘</span>
  <em>
    <span>So it was not a threat. Good. Calm down, RM wouldn’t call anyone here to bring you back. It’s just not logical since they might also get taken back. </span>
  </em>
  <strike>
    <em>
      <span>What if they were just a decoy, a bait to lure in escapees. Maybe that‘s why there has been no other recorded escapees other than BTS and now us</span>
    </em>
  </strike>
  <em>
    <span>.</span>
  </em>
  <span>’</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Huening Kai and Beomgyu popped out of the kitchen, whilst Taehyun and Soobin stepped out of the side room, “We were reading some of RM’s textbooks, did you know they haven’t discovered that whale shark’s vertebrae rings represent one year and not half? And that-”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“New guy, not a threat. Apparently, he got them out last time.” Yeonjun quickly interjected, voice low, “his name is Bang Si-Hyuck and he’s here to sort out some legal stuff. At least that’s what Jimin told me.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>That snapped Soobin out of his trivia enthusiasm, “And he’s here? Now?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Just knocked on the door. He’s coming in.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>~*~</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The five of them sat at the coffee table for what seemed like ages. The BTS members brought out chairs and someone switched on the kettle, but they still sat there in anticipation. Waiting for what, they did not know.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It was going to be the first of the weights they had to cut loose from its precarious position: dangling over their heads with its increasing worry and paranoia. Meeting this Bang Si-Hyuck and getting the legal stuff out of the way </span>
  <strike>
    <span>or we get caught and dragged back into-</span>
  </strike>
  <span> would cement the fact that they had left one place </span>
  <strike>
    <span>world, family?</span>
  </strike>
  <span> they knew. They had to face the fact that they were in unfamiliar territory with a new set of rules and </span>
  <em>
    <span>so many</span>
  </em>
  <span> people around who they didn’t know and could not predict what they were going to do next.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Voices flitted down the hallway and into the living room. Soobin mentioned for the others to stand up, where they were faced with a bright-eyed, stout man dressed in casual business wear, carrying a laptop-bag slung across his body.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>‘He wasn’t the most unassuming character, but he also wasn’t a clear threat’ </span>
  </em>
  <span>Yeonjun noted, calming slightly, </span>
  <em>
    <span>‘but he also isn’t going to lay down in a fight and act dead.’</span>
  </em>
  
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Soobin signalled to the rest of them to bow, introducing them: but stopping short of their group name.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The man chuckled at this, “No worries, I know how hard it is to break out of doing group introductions. These kids were so uptight in the beginning.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Namjoon rubbed the back of his neck, “Thinking back, we were very high-strung. This is Bang Si-Hyuck-ssi, he’s our main benefactor and heads the group that makes sure everything is fine for us. He’s here to sort out identities for you: getting you into the healthcare system, backgrounds and all that.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The man nodded, “I know it’s very sudden but I have to leave for a business trip next week so this was the best possible time to do this.” He pulled out a folder from his bag and a laptop and set them onto the table, “Shall we get started then?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The man worked quickly and to the point. His fingers flicked through documents quickly, pointing out the key information so they could quickly absorb everything without a break. He went at the exact same speed the trainers at the Compound progressed at: a familiar motion in the unfamiliar world they found themselves in was incredibly uncanny. He quickly detailed out their backstories: homeschooled kids hailing from different parts of Korea and America. Their lack of medical records could be covered by their use of private hospitals: "The face of my group," Si-Hyuck explained, "We have a couple of private hospitals and pharmaceutical research plants."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They had moved to the capital of Seoul to start a new life: "Many children want to escape their families and the pressures put upon them; not as commonly seen here in Korea but a valid excuse."</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He went on to further explain that, if they wanted, they could also attend the same university the others were attending. Either fully in-person, blended or virtual learning depending on what they preferred. They could also go straight into an apprenticeship with one of their hospitals.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s not common here in Korea but if it’s something that interests you, then I can make it work. It will be tough work and fill up a lot of your time but it’s an option that you could consider.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It took a good five hours of filling in forms crammed with black 12 point text, solidifying a backstory they had to memorise until they could recite it backwards and on-demand. But it was worth seeing the forms disappear into the black laptop bag and other documents quickly being sent off amongst multiple emails. TXT had unlocked one of their biggest shackles and freedom never felt any closer than the moment they had appeared in the alleyway: high on adrenaline and nausea.</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Uh fun fact, that whale shark vertebrae thing Soobin said is actually true. Scientists only figured that out in 2020.<br/>Another fun fact, Spinosaurus have tails more like a crocodile’s tail than a lizard’s. We also only found that out since most of the Spinosaurus fossils got destroyed in WW2.<br/>Another one: Koala fingerprints are so similar to humans that they do mess up investigations.</p><p>I'm so sorry about not updating sooner, I had absolutely no creative inspiration and it wasn't just affecting this project of mine but also others.<br/>Also updates will probably slow down (as if they already haven't, again, sorry) since I have exams coming up.<br/>Thank you to all that leave a kudos or a comment: they really make my day! Or if you're still sticking around reading this: a huge thank you to you as well!</p><p>  <a href="https://clh-odl-ao3.carrd.co"> clh-odl-ao3.carrd.co </a></p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
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